In December, Professor Robert Harrison retired from the Department of Computer Science after 20 years as a faculty member.
Dr. Harrison earned a B.S. degree in biophysics from Penn State in 1979 and went on to earn a Ph.D. in molecular biophysics from Yale in 1985.
Before joining Georgia State in 2001, Dr. Harrison was an assistant professor at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals from 1989 to 2000. During his time at GSU, Dr. Harrison held a joint appointment in the Department of Biology.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Harrison published more than 250 scholarly journals and articles, which have been cited over 8,000 times. His research spans the fields of computer security, machine learning, algorithms, bioinformatics, and structural biology.
In 2018, Dr. Harrison was appointed Associate Director of Technology for Georgia State’s Evidence-Based Cybersecurity Research Group, a team of faculty, students, and industry-affiliates working to research and review cyber-security policies and intervention systems that help prevent cybercrimes. His work included “honeypot” research, in which researchers deploy intentionally vulnerable devices, or honeypots, to monitor the activity of attackers, using their findings to inform future cybersecurity tactics.
During his free time, Dr. Harrison likes to be outdoors as much as possible. He sails small boats, canoes, and kayaks. He enjoys hiking, camping, backpacking, and scouting, as well as riding his motorcycle. Dr. Harrison also plays the guitar and writes fiction under a variety of pen names.
Story by Ashlie Swanson